Facts
The appellant (wife) and the respondent (husband) married in 1993 and lived together until their separation in 2001. The wife, who originally came from Thailand, had worked as an accountant before the marriage, but gave up her job to take care of the household. Later, she worked part-time and from 2000 on, full-time in various fields. Due to health problems, she had to reduce her workload in 2002 and received a half disability pension in 2003. The husband was fully employed throughout the marriage.
The District Court divorced the couple and obliged the husband to pay the wife CHF 1,500.-- per month until March 2010. The High Court dismissed the wife's appeal regarding maintenance. The wife requested the Federal Court to obligate the husband to pay a monthly maintenance contribution of CHF 2,500.-- until January 2018.
Considerations
The Federal Court decided that the marriage of the parties is to be considered as having had a profound impact on their lives, as the wife had left her cultural environment to move to Switzerland with the husband and had given up her gainful employment. The maintenance due is measured by the standard of living the couple had last shared during their marriage.
The High Court had calculated the maintenance due in detail, based on the extended and increased minimum subsistence level by 20%. The appellant complained of arbitrary findings of fact and violations of federal law. However, the Federal Court decided that the objections to the High Court's detailed…